Watch Ryan the Ride Mechanic Videos and Help Toys for Tots at the Same Time

One of my favorite creators, Ryan the Ride Mechanic, is donating 100% of the proceeds from his YouTube channel for one month to Toys for Tots. The month runs from October 13th until November 13th, meaning you’ve got about a week left to help participate. Ryan’s stuff covers everything from deep dives into how things like the upcoming Siren’s Curse tilt coaster will work to analysis of ride issues like the crack on Fury 325 last year. Ryan uses his years as a ride mechanic, a great sense of humor and CAD (cardboard-assisted design) to explain the engineering behind some of your favorite rides. The money goes to a great cause and it’s great content, so head on over to the Ryan the Ride Mechanic YouTube Channel and watch a video or two!

A Halloween Pumpkin Patch with a Roller Coaster?

Dynabrook Greenhouse & Pumpkin Patch in Harrodsburg, KY looks like an amazing place to spend a fall day. However, unlike you standard pumpkin patch that may have a hayride, corn maze or maybe a small flat ride, this place also has a roller coaster! The coaster is called “Happy Bee” is a powered coaster made by Chinese manufacturer Henan Beston. The roller coaster isn’t anything huge of course, but the fact that they have a permanent coaster at a pumpkin patch is pretty cool.

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The Most Important Ride You Take this Month Could Be to Your Local Polling Place to Vote!

Vote spelled in roller coaster track
Ride the “Voter Coaster” this November!

Election Day is November 5th and many states have already been voting for weeks. This season the most important ride you take could be the one to your local polling center to cast your vote. I know sometimes politics can be deflating and voting can seem inconsequential, but nothing gets better when good people sit on the sidelines. I’n some ways I’ve heard it said that if you don’t vote you lose your ability to complain about the outcome. Democracy works best when we all participate and exercise the freedom to vote that was fought for in several iterations by so many before us.

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Have the Real Zombieland Experience at Wild Adventures this Halloween Season!

Blazer Blast Off at Wild Adventures
Blazer Blast Off at Wild Adventures

Halloween is approaching when people like watching their favorite scary movies. One of my favorites is Zombieland with its great blend of action, horror and humor. I recently saw some online buzz about the “real Zombieland experience” at Dubai’s Motiongate theme park with their “Zombieland Blast-Off” launch tower ride based on the Blast Off ride seen in the movie. The park even launched a “fears becoming reality” advertising campaign. There’s just one problem, the only place to get the real Zombieland Blast Off experience is at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia!

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Stardust Racers and Epic Universe to Open May 22, 2025! Single Day Tickets Available to Pass Holders October 24, 2024.

Universal has announced the opening date for Epic Universe as May 22, 2025 and details are now coming out about who, how and when people can get tickets. They’re also releasing details and rates for the signature Helios Grand Hotel. There are are two ways you can get access to Epic Universe in the early days. If you’re a current Universal pass holder starting today (October 24th) you can purchase single day tickets to the park!

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Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia to Get a $1 million Paint Job for the 2025 Season

Goliath Repaint from SFOG Coaster Fest 2024 (pic courtesy of u/CoasterGuy95)

Six Flags Over Georgia GM Greg Fuller announced at Coaster Fest 2024 that it will repaint its iconic Goliath roller coaster. The ride will sport a completely new color scheme or turquoise blue and tarpaulin grey. At a price tag of $1 million this will be part of the park’s 2025 capital investment (along with the delayed Georgia Surfer). The paint job will begin after Fright Fest and will be ready for the 2025 season. The colors are hard to make out from the slide from Coaster Fest, but the RAL Colour samples below should give a better idea of the new colors.

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Scaly Mountain Screamer Review at Highlands Outpost in North Carolina

Scaly Mountain Screamer Logo of bear by trees
Scaly Mountain Screamer Logo

Just over the Georgia border in the southwest corner of North Carolina you’ll find Highlands Outpost and the Scaly Mountain Screamer coaster. This Wiegand mountain coaster opened in November of 2021 and is currently the longest mountain coaster in North Carolina with over 3,800 feet of track. The coaster features two lift hills, a beautiful forests and a surprise Bigfoot encounter!

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Could Virtual Reality Allow you to Experience Roller Coasters From Around the World?

The "VRoller Coaster" at Virtual Reality Adventures in Las Vegas
The “VRoller Coaster” at Virtual Reality Adventures in Las Vegas

I had the chance to experience the “VRoller Coaster” at Virtual Reality Adventures in Las Vegas and came away extremely impressed. Virtual Reality Adventures is located in the LINQ Promenade near the High Roller Ferris Wheel on the Las Vegas Strip. They offer several VR experiences with one simply called “Roller Coaster” that looks unassuming enough, but really packs a punch. During this experience you experience 3 coasters with first what I believe is Goliath at Walibi Holland, second being Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios in Florida and finally the Big Apple Coaster located at the New York New York Resort in Las Vegas.

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Hurricane Milton Closes Disney, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Other Florida Parks

UPDATE 10/11/24: Most of the Orlando Area Parks including Disney, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, LEGOLAND and Fun Spot are set to reopen on Friday, October 11, 2024 (Fun Spot actually reopened at 3pm on Thursday). These parks sustained minimal to no damage. Busch Gardens in Tampa remains closed through Saturday, October 12, 2024 with the park asking guests to check its website for further updates. There is no word yet on any damage to the park itself, however there was extensive damage to the surrounding Tampa region.

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Fright Fest, Kid’s Boo Fest and Oktoberfest Return to Six Flags Over Georgia

It’s fall and as the weather turns cooler and the trees begin to change it also means it’s time for spooky season at our favorite theme parks. It seems like every park has a Halloween or fall event now, but one of the originals is Fright Fest by Six Flags with the park celebrating its 30th anniversary of the event in 2024. This year Six Flags Over Georgia is essentially operating 3 events simultaneously with Fright Fest, Kid’s Boo Fest and Oktoberfest all happening together in September and October. One of the biggest draws of these events are the haunted mazes with their unique stories/themes and this year Six Flags Over Georgia landed some great IP with houses themed to Netflix’s Stranger Things and the Saw movie franchise!

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